Author's Note: This is a story of the romantic love of three couples. There is very little explicit sex in it, so if that is what you're seeking, look elsewhere on Literotica.
= = =
Saturday, February 6, continued
"WHAT THE FUCK!" David's exclaimed. "What do you mean, she's not your sister?"
Larry sighed deeply. He did not want to share family details with outsiders, but David was his really good friend and now Katie had taken up with Maggie. If it could help Katie, he would share what he could.
"I'm not supposed to know this, but she's actually my cousin. My dad's brother got his girlfriend 'in trouble' not too long after I was born. My grandparents are more Catholic than the archbishop, and they would not allow the life to be terminated. They badgered my parents into accepting Katie as their own. At least, that's what it was supposed to look like to the outside. We moved to Middleburg right before I started elementary school, so nobody here has, or, had, a clue about her true relationship to my parents."
"How do you know this, Larry, if it's a big family secret?" David asked, again indicating that Alan and Rose should remain silent.
"I overheard my parents talking one night a couple of years ago. Something about the money from my grandparents was going to stop once she turned 18. They were arguing about paying for her to go to college. Ever since that time, I've tried to be more caring toward her. And then I got accepted up here at Tech, and I'm hours away. I've failed her, haven't I?" His voice sounded like he was choking on his words.
Rose's hand was covering her mouth. Tears were welling up in her eyes. But she was shaking her head, indicating that she disagreed with Larry's self‑assessment. Alan just sat there, a look of pain on his face as he considered things.
"I wouldn't say that you've failed anything, Larry," David tried to console his friend. "If anyone failed anything, it may be your parents or grandparents. I can't judge them, and I don't think you should either. You need to know that Katie's distraught about how your parents have been treating her for the last few months, maybe even the last few years. She needs to know what you know. When will be your next visit home from school so you can sit down with her and talk? She's certain that everything wrong between her and your parents is her fault. We will continue to assure her that it's nothing she's done or not done. I'll need to talk things over with my dad and Rose about what we can do to best help Katie, and what to do if you can't come home for a while."
"You're a really good friend, David. Thank you for your suggestion. Thank you for caring enough to ask me." Larry sobbed. "I've got to go now, Dave. Please take care of Katie, as much as you can. For me." And Larry ended the call. David realized that Larry never answered his question about when he would be home next. 'No answer is still an answer,' David thought.
David looked at Alan and Rose with genuine pain in his expression. Rose grabbed Alan and pulled herself tightly to his chest. The dam holding back her tears burst. The sympathy for Katie's situation was overwhelming everybody. Even David was misting up at the injustice.
After a few minutes of cathartic emotional outpouring, and with the help of the box of tissues, everyone got themselves back under control.
"Now for the hard question: what do we tell Katie?" Alan asked.
"The real question is more than that; it's also: what do we do about it?"
= = =
Johnson's Jewelers in downtown Middleburg was very busy that Saturday. The increased business volume was due primarily to Valentine's Day being just a week away, plus the flood of advertising in the newspaper and on the radio. There's nothing like a 25% off sale properly timed. The experience of the customers far exceeded their expectations.
When the first customers entered, they were very pleasantly surprised by the fragrance of freshly brewed coffee and a hint of hot chocolate in the air. The attractive greeter/hostess directed the customers' attention to the proper section of the store where two attractive ladies and one handsome man awaited to help. When others arrived, they were warmly greeted and invited to have a seat at a table and enjoy a warming drink while they waited for the next salesperson to become available. Nobody felt ignored, especially when Katie offered to refill their cups while they waited.
Several customers communicated their delight at the experience of the hospitality station and the hostess staffing it. Repeatedly throughout the day, Jack would look over at Maeve and smile and bow his head in acknowledgment of her savvy. She, in turn, would nod her head in recognition of Jack's spur-of-the-moment decision to ask Katie to serve as the greeter/hostess.
It was to the great relief of all four people when 4:30 finally rolled around. Jack flipped the sign in the door to 'closed', locked the door, and everyone gathered in the back room to debrief. Maeve started things off.
"Kathleen, thank you. I believe that your presence helped to make today one of the best business days we have ever had. I don't know the numbers, but person after person told me that our having a hostess set us so far above their expectations."
"Indeed, Miss O'Shea, you validated my decision so wonderfully," Jack chimed in. He handed her a plain white envelope and added, "I trust you will be available to do this again next Saturday? We may be even busier, although I cannot imagine what that would look like. But word of mouth will spread. Maggie, I think we'll have to keep at least one table out during the week along with the beverage station for self-service." That drew a grin and a nod from Maggie.
"Now, you two be safe driving home, and we'll look for you tomorrow morning," Maeve pulled each girl in, one at a time, and gave each a quick kiss on the forehead. Katie had wide eyes at the loving gesture, so unexpected from Mrs. Johnson. Maggie handed Katie her coat and tugged her hand. Maggie wanted to get home to David, and Katie was her ride.
"Good night, Jack, Maeve. We'll see you over coffee tomorrow morning," Maggie called out and they departed.
= = =
The remainder of Saturday afternoon at the Harrison residence was spent discussing what should be shared with Katie in regards to what Larry had divulged. Early on it was agreed to be as caring and supportive toward Katie as possible. Nobody could see a remotely pleasant or calm scenario resulting from Katie learning about her past. There had been enough drama in the Harrison household recently. In the end, the consensus was not to volunteer any information but to try to guide Katie into asking the right questions of the right people, namely her parents. They would not lie, but they would answer a direct question if Katie were to ask.
David had the idea to bring out his family tree for discussion. Knowing that Alan was an only child as well as Alan's father being one made that side of the tree rather sparse. Discussing Laura's side could be seen as insensitive to Rose and Maggie, for most previous generations there were multiple children, some of whom never appeared to marry. Rose gave her blessing to this, unable to come up with another way to try to guide Katie's search for answers.
About 4:00 Rose began to assemble the supper. Soon thereafter, the house began to fill with the delightful aroma of baking lasagna, to which she would eventually add oven‑toasted garlic bread. When the girls walked in the door just before 5:00, their noses began to twitch and smiles spread from ear to ear. They quickly hung up their coats and went to the kitchen to sit at the table and kibitz with Rose while she was occupied preparing the rest of the meal.
"My, Katie, you look very nice this evening," Rose observed. "Did you have something special going on today?"
Katie looked a little puzzled at Rose's inquiry. Surely Maggie would have told her mother about Katie's limited engagement at the jewelry store. Maggie realized there had been a communication gap and it was entirely her fault.
